Still excited following a day of rigorous rounds, VHHS’s Scholars’ Bowl team lines up for a picture. (Left to right) Harrison Bridges, Terence Li, Ethan Melenevsky, Parker Lachowicz, and Rett Kline. Not Pictured: Krish Chintareddy
On Friday, February 14, the Vestavia Hills Scholars’ Bowl team won second place at the Alabama Quiz Bowl district competition. The event was hosted at Jefferson State University’s Shelby-Hoover campus and saw eight teams, including VHHS, compete in Division I. Vestavia brought six competitors to Friday’s competition: seniors Parker Lachowicz, Ethan Melenevsky, and Terence Li; juniors Rett Kline and Krish Chintareddy; and sophomore Harrison Bridges. Mr. Michael Sinnott and Mr. Ben Osborne, Scholars’ Bowl sponsors at the Main and Freshman campuses, respectively, accompanied their students, giving them valuable advice and words of encouragement.
For anyone confused by the preceding paragraph, the following is a brief overview of Scholars’ Bowl.
Scholars’ Bowl, alternatively known as Quiz Bowl, is a competition of speed, guesswork, and knowledge. Teams of four listen, forbidden to speak amongst themselves, as questions—formatted as series of facts about a single person, event, work of art, scientific idea, or other item of trivia—are read aloud. Typically, questions begin with obscure details before shifting to more recognizable material. Individual competitors activate their buzzers to pause the question and attempt to identify the subject of the question; correct answers earn ten points (or fifteen, depending on how soon the buzz comes). Incorrect answers prevent any team member from subsequently buzzing in, and, in some tournaments, they carry a penalty of five points.
In addition to these “toss-up” questions—thus named because either team can buzz in to answer—Scholars’ Bowl features three “bonus” questions attached to each toss-up. Sets of bonus questions are given first to the team that answers their toss-up, and each set of bonus questions has a theme (e.g. the site of a battle, its commanders, and the war it was part of). Teams may confer briefly before a team captain gives the team’s official answer, earning ten points for a correct answer. If a team answers a bonus question incorrectly, some competitions allow the other team an immediate attempt at answering the question; still, any remaining bonuses go to the team that first earned them.
Each round in Scholars’ Bowl consists of twenty toss-ups and sixty bonus questions, with several backup questions in case of issues with the regular set. Out of seven rounds in Friday’s tournament, the Rebels secured six victories and an average score of approximately 440 points. Notably, Vestavia won its match against Hewitt-Trussville, its closest points-per-round competitor.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Vestavia’s strong Scholars’ Bowl performance is largely owed to the contestants’ teachers. While much of their knowledge stems from independent acquisition, a surprising portion of questions can be answered with understanding competitors absorbed in classrooms. Another significant source of Scholars’ Bowl prowess comes from practice—hosted on Thursdays after school in Mr. Sinnott’s classroom (or Mr. Osborne’s classroom in the Freshman Campus). Newcomers are always welcome, and participation in tournaments is never required.
Please be sure to congratulate Vestavia’s contestants on their win and feel free to try Scholars’ Bowl out for yourself!
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